DG 121

We have a different kind of dread gallery than the usual here today. And one that I was hoping I wouldn't have to do. But since you can't always get what you want, we have to deal with the bad as well as the good here in the house of dread - even when the bad is as painful as this. I tagged this DG as a baseball item, so you might already know where this is going. And if you happened to be watching the MLB Network last Friday evening, for sure you know where this is going. Now something like this would never happen in the NFL; but in baseball, well ....

After the end of last season, the New York Mets decided not to re-sign SS Jose Reyes, allowing him to become a free agent. When I first heard that the Miami (formerly known as Florida) Marlins were interested in signing him, I was like, "please, no! Anybody but them." You see, NFL teams cannot dictate to players what style they can or cannot wear their hair in. Anything goes. But no such provision is included in the collective bargaining agreement between MLB's players and owners. Each club can make up their own rules. And sadly, there are a few stodgy teams out there who insist on a "no long hair" policy for their players - the Marlins being one of them. So as soon as Reyes signed with them in December, you knew his dreads were on borrowed time. And as of last Friday, they're gone. I'm quite sure Reyes did not want to lose his dreads at this point. But hey, Jose, if you take Marlins money ($106 million for 6 years), you have to take the Marlins haircut that goes with it.

So without any further delay, here's dread gallery 121, a farewell to Jose Reyes, as we officially, and reluctantly, have to kick him out of the house.

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Hmmm. Where to begin. Why don't we begin with the end of 2011, the last day of the regular season on Sept. 28.

1. On the second pitch thrown by Reds starter Edinson Volquez (who himself became a member of the ex-dread club earlier in the season) in the bottom of the 1st, Jose Reyes lays down a bunt .....

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2. ..... and is safe at 1st with a base hit .....

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3. ..... Reyes immediately removes himself from the game, accepting congratulations from teammates .....

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4. ..... as well as a hug from Mets manager Terry Collins after his last at bat of the season. The bunt single raised Reyes' batting average to .337. And rather than risk having it drop during his remaining at bats in the game, he left the game, satisfied that .337 would be good enough to finish in the NL lead. At that point, Brewers OF Ryan Braun, in 2nd place, would need to go at least 3 for 4 in his game later in the day to surpass Reyes. He failed, going 0 for 4 to finish at .332, allowing Reyes to clinch his first ever career batting title.

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5. Jose has a pensive look as he watches from the dugout in the top of the 9th, sensing that this was going to be his final game in a Mets uniform.

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6. Reyes tips his cap to the fans at Citi Field at the end of the game as he leaves the field one last time ..... or so he thought .....

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7. ..... A little later, with some fans still hanging around, Jose, with his dreads all tucked in under his skull cap, comes back for a curtain call. After watching him play ever since 2003, the fans were not ready to let him go. And I believe that he didn't want to go. But it was time to get paid, and what the Mets were offering just wasn't enough ..... And so on Dec. 6, at the MLB winter meetings in Dallas .....

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8. ..... Reyes poses with Marlins' officials after announcing he was taking his talents to South Beach. That's team owner Jeffery Loria on the right, who normally wouldn't be caught dead in the same photo as dreadlocks. But apparently he was so eager to introduce his team's new signee that he didn't have enough time to arrange for Reyes to get his hair cut before the press conference.

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9. Jose tries on a Marlins cap at the press conference on Dec. 6. He'll need one a couple of sizes smaller once spring training begins.

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Eight weeks later .....

10. Jose arrives at the MLB Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, to get his dreads cut off on live TV.

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11. MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds joins Reyes and confirms that his dreads measure in at slightly longer than one foot.

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12. All set to begin, Jose manages a smile as he gets the bib put on .....

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13. ..... but it wasn't funny anymore once the cutting started.

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14. Jose forces a smile as Jordan, of Jordan Sports Barbershop, goes to work on his right-side dreads.

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15. Now, it's a look of resignation as Jose realizes this really is happening and that it's too late to turn back now.

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16. Next, it's time for the rear dreads to go.

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17. Reynolds gets in on the action, taking the scissors to four or five of Reyes' locks.

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18. Now over to the left side. Almost finished.

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19. And finally, the last one ...... (I'm glad I didn't see this live. I don't know if I could have made it throught it.)

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20. Prodded by Reynolds, Jose gives his bagged-up dreads a kiss goodbye.

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21. Jordan puts on the finishing touches, and it's all good, Jose? I don't know about that.

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22. Afterward, it's the new-look Jose Reyes, with his former locks all sealed up and ready to be auctioned off.

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Click on the link below for the story of Reyes' haircut from MLB.com. You can stay with the video for the whole 11 minutes if you like, but it took less than 4 to cut off the 70 or so locks Jose had been growing for 4 years.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120203&content_id=26573602&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

As you can see, Jose clearly was not comfortable about this whole thing. But he knew what he was getting himself into when he chose the Marlins. The money mattered more than the hair. That's life. At least it was for a good cause. And if you happen to have an extra five grand lying around that you'd like to donate to charity, you can put your own bid in to become the proud owner of the dreads that used to be on Jose Reyes' head. As of the time I'm posting this, I think the bidding will still be open for a few more hours.

For the record, I was a Jose Reyes fan long before he grew the dreads and will continue to be one now. But for real, it's been really special these last three seasons.